Exciting new research has found that just a small extract from sea cucumbers kills 95% of liver cancer cells, 95% of breast cancer cells, 88% of lung cancer cells, and 90% of melanoma cells. The extract, called Frondoside A, has already shown promise in treating pancreatic, prostate, colon and skin cancer, but this recent study provides more exact results regarding its potential use as a cancer treatment.
In testing, Frondoside A attacked the various forms of cancer on three front. First, it induced apoptosis of the cancerous cells, or programmed cell death. Second, it prevented cancerous cells from spreading, and third it blocked angiogenesis, the process by which tumors grow blood vessels in the body for the blood flow they need to get progressively larger.
In one specific test, scientists took a group of mice with lung cancer tumors and divided them into two groups. The first was group was fed Frondoside A for 10 days, and the second was given a standard chemotherapy drug. At the end of the trial, the tumors of the mice fed Frondoside A shrank by 40%, and the tumors of the mice fed the chemotherapy drug shrank by 47%. While the former had a slightly smaller reduction, the implications of this finding are enormous, due to the short- and long-term effects of the drug vis-à-vis the sea cucumber extract.
The drug used had a host of side effects, including immunosuppression, organ damage, and even leukemia. In contrast, Frondoside A has no known side effects, as it is a component of a food commonly eaten in China, and it actually stimulates an aspect of the immune system, called natural killer cells, to specifically target cancer cells. Moreover, the scientists in the study used only a tiny amount of Frondoside A to produce their results—to get the same proportionate amount, the average 150 pound person would need less than 1 mg per day.
This sea cucumber extract is a relative newcomer in the natural anticancer treatment field, so it’s not readily available for purchase. However, you can find dried and powdered sea cucumber throughout Asia and increasingly in the US, as it’s traditionally been used to treat inflammatory joint conditions. As research into the Frondoside A continues, isolated extract supplements may become available in the near future, but consuming sufficient amounts of the powdered form should provide your body with a strong anticancer weapon.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23308143
http://naturalsociety.com/sea-cucumber-shrinks-cancer-cells-95-percent/
http://www.naturalnews.com/042506_sea_cucumber_breast_cancer_cells_lung_tumors.html
